Count of debit and credit cards in circulation in India crosses 1b-mark

Chennai: The number of debit and credit cards in circulation crossed the 1-billion mark in the country at the end of the September quarter.

At the end of the third quarter of 2022, there were 1.01 billion credit and debit cards in circulation.

The number of outstanding credit cards climbed by 19 per cent from 65 million in September 2021 to 77.7 million in September 2022, while outstanding debit cards increased by 2 per cent from 920.3 million to 938.53 million during the same time, as per the data of Worldline India.

As of September 2022, the top credit card-issuing banks were HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Kotak Bank, while the top debit card issuing banks were State Bank of India, Bank Of Baroda, Union Bank, Canara Bank, and HDFC Bank.

Credit card transaction volume was 725 million and value was Rs 3.5 trillion in Q3 2022. Credit card transactions at POS accounted for 386.83 million, while e-commerce accounted for 338.80 million.

In terms of value, in Q3 2022, customers spent Rs 1.31 trillion at POS and Rs 2.18 trillion on e-commerce purchases using credit cards. Despite the general trend of transactions shifting from the physical to the digital env-ironment, credit card volume at point of sale (POS) and online is virtually equal in Q3 2022.

In the third quarter of 2022, the volume of debit card transactions was 907 million and Rs 1.88 trillion. POS transactions accounted for 595.4 million of the total debit card volume, while e-commerce transactions contributed to 311.6 million.
In terms of value, POS terminals processed Rs 1.19 trillion, while e-commerce via debit cards processed Rs 681.7 billion.

Debit card clients typically use their cards for small ticket-size transactions at physical touchpoints, but value-added services including EMI and BNPL have started allowing consumers to use their cards for high-value items and services. Festive season sales and hyperlocal service delivery are also contributing to the development of debit card e-commerce transactions.